China to US: Filipinos have right to know truth behind ‘anti-vax propaganda’

The Chinese Embassy is calling on the United States Embassy in the Philippines to explain the alleged secret campaign of the American military to discredit China-made vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supposed disinformation campaign had contributed to hundreds to thousands of deaths in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy said, adding that it also endangered the health of the general public.

“The Filipino people and the international community have the right to know the truth. Why has the US Embassy in the Philippines remained silent on that? Mustn’t the United States be held accountable for what it did during the pandemic?” the Chinese Embassy said.

According to a Reuters report, the US aimed to “sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid” that was being supplied by China to countries like the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report said the Pentagon had been trafficking in COVID-19 “misinformation” through X, formerly Twitter. It identified at least 300 accounts, almost all of which were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus.

Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga recently told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that they have not received an official and formal response yet on the matter.

As soon as the Reuters article came out, Chan-Gonzaga said the DFA had contacted the US embassy in Manila through “our regular consultations mechanism” but had been referred to the US Defense Department. — VDV, GMA Integrated News